BusinessLive reports that the National Forum on the Legal Profession (NFLP), tasked with making the legal profession more accessible, says it will not budge from its recommended race and gender quotas in respect of the Legal Practice Council (LPC).
According to the Legal Practice Act of 2014, the LPC, made up of 24 members, will, inter alia, have the power to regulate legal practitioners. The NFLP was set up by the Department of Justice to guide policy surrounding the LPC. Lobby group the Association for Afrikaans (VRA) has labelled the proposed quotas, which will be sent to Justice Minister Michael Masutha next month, illegal. VRA spokesman Tiaan van Dyk said the transformation mandate should not be thrust upon voting members in the council, as this was akin to prescribing which advocates and attorneys should be voted for. "Quotas have been declared illegal in any case by the courts, so I do not know why they insist on continuing," he added. Van Dyk said they would wait for the minister’s response to objections and then decide accordingly.
- Read this report by Khulekani Magubane in full at BusinessLive
- Read the VRA’s press statement at SA Labour News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page